


Close call

by violetbear



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst and Humor, Attempt at Humor, Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 11:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19208887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetbear/pseuds/violetbear
Summary: Outcasts attack the oupost. Calling in the Pathfinder to help defend it seemed like a smart idea to Reyes. Until Scott's blood was staining his hands.





	Close call

Why did these fools persist, Reyes wondered, peering out from cover. Sloane was dead. Kaetus was in a holding cell in headquarters. The Outcasts had nothing left. They should’ve just taken his offer. His foolish offer to join the Collective, all past sins forgiven. He still didn’t know why he... Yes, he did. He was thinking of how his love would handle it. He was trying to be a better man for the one who thought he already was.

None of the Outcasts had taken his offer, not that he was surprised. Sloane might have been an evil dictator but she inspired lasting loyalty. Which was why they were still fighting increasingly smaller bands of Outcasts six months after the duel. This time though they had gotten a bit smarter. Several bands had joined together to try to destroy the Outpost.

Unfortunately for them, their timing sucked. The Tempest was landing at the port when he got word of the attack from his guards at the Outpost. Shore leave was immediately cancelled as the Pathfinder and his entire squad joined him in the shuttle headed for the Outpost. The Outcasts never stood a chance, he had thought as he looked around the full shuttle. The fight would be over in minutes once they got there. One hour later, he was cursing his bravado.

“Of course they’d pick today to get smart”, he yelled to Cora crouched behind a container across from him.  
“Bastards”, she cursed, venom thick in her voice.  
He turned to his head to see her pressing a hand to her bleeding upper right arm.  
“You okay, Lieutenant?”  
“I’m good.” She injected medi-gel before picking her rifle back up. “Everyone watch your shields”, she called over the comm. “Bastards are using armour piercing ammo.”  
Everyone acknowledged her. Everyone except for one. He exchanged worried glances with Cora before he switched comm channels, not wanting to worry the rest of the Pathfinder’s squad if they hadn’t noticed the absence.

“Baby, you there”, he asked, not bothering with titles. SAM had created this channel just for them. Nothing or no one else could access it. “Baby, come on. Answer me.”  
“That’s Pathfinder baby to you, dear.” He had never before been so relieved to hear his lover’s voice. “Damn it. Just die already.”  
“I told you I’m hard to kill, darling. I’ve got nine lives.”  
“You, cats, and this bastard. He’s managed to get a couple good shots and he’s armoured to the max. Shit. Haven’t you shot me enough?”  
Fuck, he was an idiot. Why hadn’t he seen this sooner? The Outcasts wanted this to happen. Because the Outpost wasn’t the only symbol of the Initiative now on Kadara soil. And he had put him directly within reach for them.

“Damn it”, he growled, cursing his own stupidity. “Baby, where are you?” The silence was deafening, making his breath catch in his throat. “Answer me, darling. Please”, he pleaded. “Where are you?” He couldn’t take the silence anymore.  
“SAM, where’s the Pathfinder?”  
“One hundred feet to your left. Please hurry. I can’t...”  
“SAM?” No answer. “Damn it.”  
He reloaded his rifle and checked his shield.  
“Lieutenant, I’m going to need some covering fire.”  
“We’ve got you. Go.”  
He ran. Somehow he didn’t get shot. If they all survived this, he was buying everyone whatever they wanted. If Scott survived.

He slowed as he reached a spot strewn with Outcast corpses. One of the corpses was lying on top of a partially destroyed container. Only lightly armoured from the back, as he got closer he saw the man was very heavily armoured in the front. He hurried around the container to see Scott flat on his back, eyes closed. His assault rifle was still in his right hand. His left was over his stomach. Blood was sluggishly pouring out between his fingers to join the pool of blood spreading out beneath him.  
He dropped to his knees beside him and his hand over his, pressing down with all his might. Scott’s eyelids fluttered as he groaned.

“That’s right, baby”, he murmured. “Stay with us. Stay with me.” He briefly took his hand away to switch comm channels. “Cora, we need an evac. Now.” The ground shook beneath him, making him fall over. He cursed and returned to his knees, pressing down harder on Scott’s hand as his own began to shake. “Hold on, baby. Help’s coming. Cora?”  
“Evac is on hold. Three hydras just joined the field. Tempest can’t land until they’re gone. Stand by.”  
“But he needs---“  
“They destroy the Tempest, he’ll get nothing. I’m sorry. Do what you can.”  
He knew she was right but that thought didn’t exactly comfort him with his love’s blood on his hands. Blood that kept coming, turning his gloves dark red. He needed to stop it. But to do that he needed to know where.

“Baby, can you hear me?” His voice shook but he didn’t notice, too intent on any sign that Scott was still with him. “This is going to hurt. I’m sorry.” He quickly unclasped Scott’s chest piece with his blood slicked fingers and pulled it off. There was a hole in his under armour an inch right of his belly button. Without the pressure of his armour on the wound, the blood flowed faster out of the hole. Reyes placed both hands over the hole and pressed down with all his might. The blood slowed but not enough. He chanced removing one hand to search through his pockets. He found two packs of medi-gel. It had to be enough. It had to be. He couldn’t lose Scott. That wasn’t an option.

He tore both packs open with his teeth and poured them over the hole before returning both hands over it.  
“Please work”, he pleaded. “Please work.” The blood tickled to a stop. He sighed in relief as he removed his hands. Leaning over Scott, he kissed his sweat covered forehead.  
“You’re okay, baby”, he breathed. “I’ve got you.”  
“One hydra down”, Cora updated him. “How is he?”  
“Stable but hurry. He needs Lexi. I don’t...”

Warmth at his knees made him look down. The pool of blood under Scott was still growing. No. Not possible. He had... Damn it. He was a fool. He reached under Scott; feeling for the hole he knew had to be there. He found it and pressed up hard. He reached for another pack of medi-gel. When his fingers found the two empty packets, he remembered. There was no more on him.  
He searched his armour again, hoping he had overlooked one but he came up empty. He next checked Scott’s armour, his hands becoming more frantic as he found nothing, again and again. No. There had to be some somewhere. He had to think. His eyes caught on Scott’s chest piece that he had thrown away. Stretching himself, careful to keep the pressure on Scott’s wound, his fingers fell a couple inches short. Was it worth it to let go and grab it? Could it still have medi-gel in it after how injured Scott was when he found him? With Scott’s blood tickling over his fingers, he decided it was worth a shot. Removing his hand from Scott, he was able to grab the armour. 

“Reyes”, Scott moaned, eyelids fluttering. “I’m.... Sorry.”  
“You’re going to be okay, baby. Just hold on.” He cracked the armour getting the mod out but didn’t care as medi-gel started running down his fingers. “This might hurt a bit.” He rolled Scott slightly onto his side and poured the medi-gel into the bullet hole. The bleeding slowed before coming to a complete stop. He placed Scott back onto his back, not surprised to see him passed out again. “Told you it might hurt”, he murmured, kissing his cheek.

“How’s he doing, Reyes”, Cora asked.  
“Still breathing but SAM’s not saying anything. He needs Lexi now.”  
“Almost there. Just tell him to hold on.”  
“I’ve been doing that”, he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Any other helpful advice you want to give me, Lieutenant?”  
“No, that’s it. One more hydra to go.”  
“Thanks for the update.”  
He looked down to see Scott’s eyes open.

“Hey, baby”, he whispered, placing a hand on his cheek. “You’re going to be okay. Just hold on. Stay with me, darling.”  
“Love you.”  
“I love you too. And after Lexi fixes you, I’m going to show you how much. You just need to stay with me.”  
“Kiss me.”  
He did so as the sound of the Tempest’s engines filled the air. Help had finally arrived.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Hey, baby.” He brushed a stray hair off Scott’s forehead. “You look like shit.”  
Scott laughed before placing a hand over his blanket covered stomach.  
“Ow”, he groaned. “Don’t make me laugh. I just got out of surgery. Remember?”  
“How could I forget? You got very luck, my love.”  
“It was nothing. Just another day.”  
“Another day?” His mind flashed back to Scott on the ground, eyes closed. Near death. Bleeding out. “That was not just another day, my love. You almost didn’t have another day.” He sat down in the chair beside Scott’s bed. Scott reached for his hand but he batted it away. “I almost lost you”, he whispered.

“But you didn’t.” Scott kept his voice low too, mindful of the many eyes on them in the med bay of Port Meridian. “You found me, Reyes. You saved my life.”  
“I did nothing. You saved yourself, killing that bastard that shot you. SAM saved you. Lexi and the other doctors saved you. Saved you from what I caused.”  
“You got medi-gel into me. You stopped the bleeding.”  
“Didn’t you hear what Lexi said? Severe internal bleeding. I just blocked it from getting out.”  
“That’s not how it works and you know it.” Scott grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You also heard Lexi. The bullet nicked my renal artery. I only lasted as long as I did because of SAM and you.” Scott tugged his hand, forcing him to look at him. “Because of you, I am alive. Even SAM says so.”  
“Well, if SAM thinks so.”

He leaned over and kissed Scott, careful to be gentle. His love had just come out of surgery, as he had said. Not that Scott seemed to care. He wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him closer.  
“Dearest”, he murmured, his lips millimeters from Scott’s. “You are recovering and we do have an audience.”  
“You didn’t care about eyes on you earlier.”  
“What?” He pulled away to see a mischievous glint in Scott’s eyes. “My love, is this really the time or the place for jokes?”  
“You’re right. I meant to say ears.”  
“Okay. I’ll play along. Who was listening earlier to us? The answer is no one because I was only just let in to see you.”  
“My crew.” He kissed him before placing his lips beside his ear. “You forgot to turn off your comm, baby”, he whispered.


End file.
